NEWTON, NJ - The NCC men's basketball team earned a hard-fought Region XIX road victory on Thursday night, defeating the Skylanders of Sussex County Community College, 86-77.

The Spartans, who never trailed in the game, placed four players in double figures, led by Josh Vargas with 21.  Michael Wilson scored a season-high 12, with 10 coming in the second half.  Freshman point guard Elliot Gumbs scored 18 points and dished out 7 assists, while classmate Brian Smith finished with 15 points, including a 5 for 6 performance from the foul line in the final minute of play.

"We had a good overall team effort tonight," stated Head Coach Kevin Foley, "we were able to jump out early and keep the crowd out of it, which was definitely to our advantage."

Deon Queen and Demetrius Bourn each scored 17 to lead the the Skylanders.

Northampton, now 4-6 overall and 2-3 in Region XIX, is off until Tuesday December 8th when they host the nation's top-ranked team, Bergen County Community College.